Gun evidence detailed in Minneapolis task force shooting

MINNEAPOLIS — Newly filed court documents detail gun evidence recovered from the scene of a fatal shooting of a driver during an arrest attempt by members of a federal task force in Minneapolis.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has said evidence indicates Winston Boogie Smith Jr., who was Black, fired his gun before he was killed June 3 in a parking ramp in the city’s Uptown neighborhood by members of a U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force. Authorities have said Smith was wanted on a warrant for being a felon in possession of a gun.

Search warrant affidavits filed this week in Hennepin County District Court show that 15 cartridge casings from police firearms were found outside of the SUV in which Smith was sitting and six cartridge casings from another gun were found inside.

According to one affidavit, a Smith and Wesson M&P 380 pistol was also recovered from the driver’s side of the SUV and the six casings found inside matched the pistol. Following the shooting, the BCA said a handgun and spent cartridge cases were found inside the driver’s area.

Attorneys for an unidentified woman who was in the SUV with Smith said last week that she never saw him with a weapon.

A loaded magazine was also found in a duffel bag in the SUV, according to an affidavit. Authorities also said they found cash, tablets in prescription bottles, as well as baggies and plastic containers that contained what was described as “plant material.”

Smith’s death happened in a city that has been on edge since the death of George Floyd just over a year ago and the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright by an officer in nearby Brooklyn Center in April.

Smith’s shooting sparked days of protests in the neighborhood as his family members and community members have demanded transparency. Authorities have said there is no body camera or police vehicle camera footage of the shooting.

This story has been corrected to note that 15 cartridge casings were found outside Smith’s vehicle, not 14, according to the search warrant affidavits.